Nowadays, there are many discussions about whether or not teachers should be allowed to strike. Some people believe that teachers, as well as other types of workers, have a number of rights that cannot be neglected, and the right to go on strikes is one of them. However, there are also many proofs that teachers’ strikes have to undergo certain limitations, and teachers should not be allowed to strike because they may lead to unpredictable results. Current paper aims at analyzing why teachers should not be allowed to strike by means of counterarguments and refutations to prove the urgency of the chosen topic and the necessity to think about the conditions under which education is offered to students.
The essence of teachers’ strikes is of doubtful nature: teachers may be allowed to strikes as they have the freedom of speech and rights that cannot be neglected by the government, the necessity to talk about the conditions under which they should work, or may want to discuss their disagreements with students, parents, and administration; however, teachers’ strikes are not appropriate due to the responsibilities before students, expectations that come from society, and the abilities to ask for help special organizations that aim at protecting teachers’ rights.
There are three main counterarguments to the fact that teachers should not be allowed to strike. First, it is argued that a strike is an option for teachers to prove their rights, demonstrate their needs, and use the freedom of speech as a good chance to ask for better working conditions and higher salaries. Second, teachers face many challenges providing students with the necessary portion of knowledge and experience. Finally, teachers’ strikes may be justified as an outcome of poor cooperation with students, parents, and administration. The example of teachers’ strikes in B.C., Canada, shows that teachers may be dissatisfied with the fact that they have to work with a bigger amount of students and parents without an appropriate compensation. This attention to counterarguments helps to understand that people may introduce a list of clear and effective reasons of why it is possible to support the idea of teachers’ strikes around the whole world. Teachers are the people with their needs. The results of teachers’ dissatisfaction may reflect on the way of how an educative process is organized. Society should remember that teachers are the mechanism without which it is hard to promote social development. The profession of a teacher should be respected. However, it is also necessary not to confuse the profession and its role in society with the idea of strikes and their possible outcomes.
It is high time to refute the counterarguments mentioned above and discuss a true essence of teachers’ strikes and their effects on society. First of all, when teachers go on strikes to prove their freedom of speech, they should remember about the responsibilities they have for the society they live in. The main harm of striking is the disruption of the educational process and the creation of the unexpected conditions that may influence a number of different spheres. Of course, teachers may want to admit that they cannot continue working under the same conditions. They need some help and understanding. In this case, the existence of special organizations and labor unions like the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation should be considered.
There are many similar organizations around the whole world that take care of public school teachers and have special opportunities and time to protect teachers’ rights. Finally, when teachers are going to strike, they have to remember their first steps as teachers, the period, when they made a decision to choose this kind of profession. People are usually aware of the challenges many teachers face at work. Still, they decide to become teachers and use different reasons to prove the correctness of their choice. This is why when teachers think about a strike as the only method to solve a problem, they have to come back to the backgrounds and create a list of the pros of being a teacher.
Teachers should not be allowed to strike because of many different reasons that make sense. Teachers’ strikes create a number of challenges for children at first. In case child education is interrupted by the teacher’s refusal to work, a child does not get the same opportunities to be developed as the other peers do. In addition, it is necessary for parents to think about additional childcare during the strikes. For example, the Canadian teachers’ strikes in 2014 made many parents lose money: single parents could not combine their work and childcare, children did not get financial support, and people with the accompanying jobs like bus drivers, cleaners, and medical workers cannot work as well (Talmazan para.4). Such people had nothing to do but sitting back, waiting for some results to be achieved, and hoping for the best. This is an example of how one teachers’ strike may influence the lives of many people, including children. Teachers should never neglect the existence of special labor units that can be helpful for them. As soon as a problem takes place, it is not necessary to think about the most provocative strike.
Sometimes, it is enough to ask for help and wait for the answer. The government may not meet all the teachers’ needs because of many different reasons. However, the government promotes the creation of special organizations that may remind about the importance of teaching. What teachers should do is to address a special organization, introduce a list of concerns, and offer the solutions, which are more appropriate for them. It is wrong to show an example of aggressive and unnecessary strikes and refusals to work. Teachers should never forget that they serve as the examples to rely on for many children. It happens that children do not have enough successful parents to follow their examples. In this case, teachers become a kind of models for children. A choice to go on strike should not be the example for children at such an early stage.
In general, the reasons and conditions of teachers’ strikes may vary considerably. Still, the analysis shows that teachers should not be allowed to strike even if they want to prove their freedoms and rights, improve working conditions, or change the way they have to cooperate with students, parents, or administration because being a teachers means being an example and a kind of support for children, who expect care and knowledge from their teachers. A strike is an interruption into the educational process as well into an ordinary child’s life. It is not correct and has to be overcome by any possible means to promote safe future for society.
Works Cited
Talmazan, Yuliya. “B.C. Teachers Gather at Canada Palace for Rally; Hope to Put Pressure on Government.” Global News 2014. Web.